Fedor Emelianenko apparently has had a change of heart.
After suggesting an imminent retirement following Saturday's doctor's-stoppage loss to Antonio Silva in the opening round of Strikeforce's eight-man heavyweight grand prix, the fighter today changed his tune.
In a series of Twitter messages, Emelianenko stated he wanted the fight to continue and said he hasn't decided whether he's going to retire.
The 34-year-old Russian headlined Saturday's Showtime-televised "Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva" event at IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J. After a close first round that Emelianenko won on two of the three judges' cards, the much-heavier Silva got him to the mat and unloaded a vicious ground-and-pound assault. Emelianenko's right eye became badly swollen during the exchanges, and prior to the third round, the cageside physician declared the fighter unable to continue.
As a result, Silva earned a TKO win and now advances to the semifinals with fellow weekend winner Sergei Kharitonov.
Conflicting reports then surfaced as to whether Emelianenko called for the fight to be stopped.
"I would have liked to continue to fight," Emelianenko stated in Russian via Twitter. "The doctor did everything possible, but it did not (continue) unfortunately."
He said a decision about whether to continue fighting or instead retire "will be resolved in the near future."
Emelianenko went unbeaten from 2000 to 2010 with a perfect 27-0 record against many of MMA's elite. However, the former PRIDE champion suffered a June 2010 submission loss to Fabricio Werdum, and with the defeat to Silva, now has suffered back-to-back losses. They're the only two legitimate losses of his 11-year pro career.
Despite his opening-round loss, Emelianenko could re-enter the grand prix as an alternate. Although three fighters earned wins in tourney-reserve fights, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told MMAjunkie.com Emelianenko could be the top alternate if a spot does open.
Source: http://mmajunkie.com/news/22477/fedor-e ... fights.mma
